The Government Justice Center and several public policy centers filed a “friend of the court” brief in Jarchow v. State Bar of Wisconsin before the United States Supreme Court arguing that mandatory bar association fees are unconstitutional. Mandatory bar associations impose severe burdens on protected speech and association. It is a bedrock First Amendment principle that […]

GJC Sues to Stop Governor’s Unconstitutional Pay Raise

Civic engagement should be encouraged, not silenced

The Town of Boylston’s reason for refusing to abide by a FOIL request is… Quickbooks. Anyone familiar with the platform knows that records can be easily extracted and shared and this claim is nonsensical.

A FOIL request for records between two public agencies was denied for blanket exemption claims. As more and more agencies deny requests without stating explicit reasons, transparency becomes harder to grasp. GJC hopes to remedy this by setting a precedent in this case against DOL and the Town of Queensbury.

The Long Island Power Authority entered into a contract with Deepwater Wind and refuses to disclose the contract price— even though taxpayers are the ones paying for it.

How a Nassau County woman’s quest to discover comparable sale values could help New Yorkers challenge their property assessments

GJC Sues Public Campaign Finance Commission for Records

Lori Smith is a Certified Equine Sports Massage Therapist and horse enthusiast. She was ordered by the state of New York to cease and desist her horse massage therapy business, “Five Feathers Equine Massage.”

The Government Justice Center has filed a lawsuit in state Supreme Court in Nassau County on behalf of Mr. Duffy to grant him and other residents access to the algorithm used in determining real residential property values in the recent countywide reassessment process.